Timewaster's Guide Archive
General => Everything Else => Topic started by: fuzzyoctopus on January 09, 2004, 03:20:00 PM
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Ok, here's the scoop. I'm taking 18 credits this semester- something I've never ever done before, and I'm worried about it.
I wouldn't worry so much, but it is my last semester, (big papers, big projects) and on top of that I'm going to also get a part-time job this semester because we need the money. I keep looking at my transcript and thinking, "dang it, it's only this editing minor that's keeping me here and with an 18 credit load. I have until next Friday to drop any classes, and i'm seriously considering it.
I need your opinions. I feel so burnt out on school, and just want to be done. Will having an editing minor actually help me out in the real world, or will it just look pretty on a transcript that no one will ever see? Should I drop my Elang 330 class, my Elang 421 class, or both? (If I had to drop one, it would be Elang 421, which is a new program and therefore is worth crap because it doesn't have the kinks worked out....) But it would mean sacrificing the editing minor. At this point I don't care, I just want to graduate and leave Utah, and be able to have some free time to breathe this semester.
Help? Especially from stacer, and other BYU grads who are into editing.... help?
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Well, minors do look nice on a resume, however there are a lot of things that look nice on a resume.
One thing to consider is that education doesn't go as far as work experience. If I'm correct, Stacer graduated in Family Science, which isn't closely related to editing. Yet, becuase of her vast experience in publishing she has managed to keep herself employed in the business.
Also, a lot of people are very successful without college degrees in a wide range of fields. Publishing is one of those fields. So, if I had to choose between an editing minor and an editing job, I would go with the job.
Also, having experienced severe burnout that got me placed on tranquilizers for a couple of months, I don't recommend burnout.
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you've all heard me joke about how it's insane to take more than 15 credits in a semester (12 seems to be about my limit), but in part I'm serious. Taking too much can have a serious impact on performance and happiness.
Note that I dropped a minor for even less cause than this too. I didn't want to take a class I felt was below my level and because I had taken class I felt covered the same material. The English dept would not accomodate me, so I dropped the minor.
As for not working in a field related to your major: I now work in the color measurement industry (yeah, actually, you CAN major in it, there are 4 programs in the country for it) which is an industry I didn't even know existed when I was in college.
I think you'll live without the minor
So, what you really have to decide is how much the major is worth to you. Part of my attitude would be feeling I'd accomplished something. Will this affect your feelings? Only you can really decide that.
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What's 421? I know that 330 was a great class, and that's how I met Kristy, then through her went to TLE and met you guys. So I highly recommend 330 for that alone, but if Linda is still teaching it, drop it immediately. I ended up getting a C out of it--because she didn't give us a syllabus until the last week of class. I had no idea what her expectations were. Occasionally she mentioned that we ought to be reading something or other, but since I had no syllabus to refer to, I often forgot it in the face of other classes which did have the requirements spelled out.
I considered an editing minor, but it would have added time I didn't want to spend. So I took 330, and Mel Thorne's internship, and worked for Mel for just over a semester. My editing classes never come up in interviews, and at this point I'm considering dropping some of my older jobs off the resume, as it's starting to get crowded with what are now minor things (typesetter back in '96, that kind of thing).
The best thing I can tell you is if you have a choice between an internship and a class, take the internship. Between a job and an internship, take the job (related to publishing, I mean). The more hands-on real work you get, that's what matters. And nobody cares if you weren't an English major or an editing minor--in fact, it's stronger sometimes, depending on what you want to do, to have a degree in something else, as long as you have the job experience.
For example, here at my job, in the school division, they tend to want editors with elementary teaching experience, since they're working on school textbooks.
If you're going to get burned out, cut the fat and finish to get that little piece of paper that means so much to everyone. Keep an extra editing class if you have the time, but don't worry about the minor.
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I'm going to have to disagree a little: My final semester I took 19 credits, including my Senior Seminar, and it was the best semester of my college career -- and I was working part time (24 hours/week). Having so little time to do other stuff made me focus a lot more and use my time better.
Of course, it wasn't an editing degree, so maybe it was a little different.
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If you have the energy to work 18 credits and work part-time, then you can do that if you wish. However, overworking has some serious health consequences both mental and physical.
I think everyone has times in their lives where they can work really insanely hard. I've done and really injoyed it. But you can only keep up that pace for so long before your body will just give out. So I guess, fuzzy, it's time you take a good look at how much energy you have left. If you have the energy to keep the tight schedule until the end of April, then the editing minor might be worth it. Just be sure it's something you really want.
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See, you've already talked to stacer. Hmm
Personally, I think 18 credits in Winter semester is INSANE. However, I was never able to take more than 12 Winter Semester due to my seasonal depression. And as I said before, I don't think a minor is all that important.
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As one who has worked in and interviewed for the editing field, I feel almost embarrased to recommend dropping the editing minor, but I really think it's the best option (if you truly feel that you're not up to the load). Simply put, there is an overriding attitude in the corporate world that "anyone can write," so jobs designed for writers and/or editors don't necessarily go to people with pertinent degrees. If your major is something bizarre then keep the minor, but if your major is in English or journalism (sometimes even communications will work) then you're as covered as you need to be. Once you can prove your skill at writing or editing, the thin line between degree names becomes mostly immaterial.
In fact, you can probably just do what I do: on your resume, where you put your degree, write it as English: Writing and Editing Emphasis. That's official enough.
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I'll do a bit of clarification for the questions asked,
Stacer: 421 is a new class for the editing minor. My 330 class is taught by Doris Dant and I think I'm going to keep that no matter what because she teaches well and I'll learn a lot of useful stuff.
Yes, I'm an english major.
I talked to the people in my 330 class, which I had right after I posted this thread, and they seemed to agree with you. So I think I'm going to drop the minor adn 421, but keep 330, because it will teach me things I need to know if I want to be an editor, and she has us actually (*gasp*) put together a portfolio.
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Yeah, we put a portfolio together in 330 when I took it, too. We edited a few manuscripts, went to the printing museum, went to the University Press (which I was working at, so it wasn't really that big a deal for me), and did fact-checking, so those were all quite useful.
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I'm taking three credits this semester. I feel over-loaded.
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(I realize you say this mostly in jest, but...) Yeah, but you're a grad student. Grad classes are harder (that is, more fully packed with responsibilities and expectations), and you probably have other responsibilities. I got overloaded this last semester with 8 credits and working full time. I'm still finishing one class on extension.
Lately I'm all about focusing on the most important thing. I've really had to figure out what my priorities are, and it hasn't been easy, with demands from so many sectors, and demands I put on myself. I don't think my professors understand just how important church is in my life, despite having one other member of the church in my program, and sometimes they think, well, that's one thing that ought to go if you're struggling for time. It's a good thing that BYU understands that commitment.
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Yes, that was in jest. I'm taking one class, but I'm teaching two, and I've got four credits of thesis hours this semester.
However, that said, I maintain the same viewpoint on school that I always have: it comes third. Church first, writing second, school third. If it came down to having to choose between school and writing, I would not do assignments and not go to class in order to work on my novels.
School exists to enhance my life, and is not an end unto itself. While I enjoy learning, my writing career is more important to me, and I will explain this to teachers if they seem inclined to give me too much homework. Generally, however, this isn't a problem as I've always intentionally taken a light load at school.
Better to graduate in five years and enjoy them than to graduate in four and be stressed out. (However, I realize that for many--especially those with less-flexible careers and families to consider--this is not a viable outlook. It is simply how I have organized my life.)
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You lazy bum ;)
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Ok, I'm not totally sure about this, almost sure, but I think I may go to this school next semester: www.medaille.edu
Maybe major in Professional Writing or Literature. My mom works there, so I'd get some nice tuition assistance. Hows that look?
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Do you want to go because of a girl?
Do you want to go because its less remote than your current college?
Do you want to go for you?
If the answer to the first question is a yes look long and hard at the second two answers.
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Actually, it's all three. Sort of. If things work out with me and Jenny, then I come back home for school, and things work out better, and I get a decent education. Things back at SUNY Canton are starting to differate. I'm not entirely sure. I don't feel like I fit in anywhere. I'll have to stop here because this is hitting me like a ton of bricks. I have no idea where I belong... yeah... I don't know.
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Ok, sorry about that. Just a small bout of depression hitting me. Must be getting back at me for being so happy these past few months. Anywho, I'm not totally sure what to expect. Thats why I hate these deadlines and such. I like to play it to the final seconds, and sometimes a few after. But I still get it done. There's just something about me, deadlines, and procrastination. We all get along most of the time. We compromise, make important decisions, all sorts of stuff. Ah well, what will I do.
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so what made you start thinking of it in the first place?
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Thinking of what? Going to a different school? Or how insignificant I actually am everywhere I go?
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well, I was thinking school. But the insignificance could go into the therapy thread.
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Well, I don't think staying at a school where all I'll get after 2 years is a degree in "Liberal Arts" will do much for me. So yeah, there you are.
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depends. How cost efficient is it? You coudl do some research to find out how many of your credits will transfer to another school. If they'll transfer, and the school you want to transfer to is much more expensive, it could very well be worth it to stay put for another year.
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Well, my mom works for the college I posted above. So she gets some sort of tuition assistance for certain colleges. So she has this list of colleges that I can choose from, and we'll get that stuffs.
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well, then transfer. What are you waiting for?